This I Believe

Music is a powerful thing, with the ability to affect the emotions of all who hear it in diverse ways. The ability of music to incite all sorts of feelings in the minds of its listeners has been the glue that has kept me together throughout my life. This, I believe: Music has the ability to connect humans together in minutes, where such bonding would otherwise take years.

A cold sweat began to form on my brow as I sat, apprehensive, in my first day of freshman mixed chorus. I had always been a quiet person, but even more so when singing was the focus. Although I liked to sing, I was often told that I sounded like a cat that just had its tail pulled, and, understandably, was not too keen on singing in front of others. The class, who had a second earlier been chatting animatedly, suddenly fell silent, as the professor, Mr. Kiesewietter, walked into the room. “Hello class, before we get into any of the technical stuff, I’d like to do a small activity with you all”. He paused. “Everyone stand up and get ready to sing!” I blinked, in somewhat of a stupor. This was not how the first day of school was supposed to be! The only anxiety on the first day should be deciding what you should do after school, not singing in front of your class! “Okay class, I want this section of the room to sing this line after me”. He then proceeded to sing a beautiful, airy sounding melody. A fourth of the room sang it back, in reedy, underdeveloped tones. Mr. Kiesewietter then proceeded to sing a different melody to each of the other three quarters of the room. After fifteen painstaking minutes, the four parts were finally nailed down, and Mr. Kiesewietter said “Class, I think we’ve got it. Should we try it all together now? As the music began to flow, like a mighty river, all of us in the room were connected. Even though all of us in the classroom had never even spoken to one another, we all felt as though we had been lifelong friends.

I believe that when I sing, I enter that living consciousness which bonds all of those who sing together. Even those who are mortal enemies cannot remain mortal enemies while the music lasts. Although there are discrepancies between people of what music to sing, when the singing begins, the two are bonded together in a way that years of conversation could not manage. Human beings are connected by emotions, and the music that humans create is the passageway to letting those emotions flourish, and the experience of watching others truly express their happiness, pain, sorrow or reverence alongside you is one of the most moving experiences of your life. This I believe: music is the fastest way to connect with your fellow humans, and transcends any race, religion, nationality, or culture.

Shop on Amazon and support This I Believe

We receive up to 10% of every purchase you make on Amazon through this link. So do all your holiday shopping here and help support This I Believe!

Top 100 Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

This week’s essay

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia, lawyer Djenita Pasic enjoyed the peace of her religiously diverse country. But after the fall of communism and the outbreak of the Bosnian War, Pasic was forced to reevaluate her ideas about religion and tolerance. Click here to read her essay.